American Cockroach

Our call center and service centers have recently received a lot of calls regarding cockroaches. So we thought this would be a great opportunity to educate our readers on the American Cockroach in the event that you are experiencing this nuisance as well!

The American Cockroach, “Waterbug” or “Palmettobug”, as we like to call it in the south, is suspected to have been brought over to North America via ships from Africa. These hideous looking bugs are known to be an inch or longer and reddish brown in color. Both male and female cockroaches have wings but are not good fliers.

The female cockroachwill drop her ootheca, or egg, about 4 days after it is formed. The cockroach eggs are dropped in cracks or crevices of high humidity near a food source, which could mean health issues for you in your home or business. On average, the female cockroachwill produce 9-10 ootheca which will contain 14-16 eggs in each. It takes the eggs on average of 600 days to develop. The life span for female eggs is between 225-440 days, depending on temperature, while males typically live about 200 days.